ETCS Advocate: Fall 1998


Information for advocates of the IPFW School of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science	Vol.2,No.2 Fall 1998

Advocate Council's Advice Impacts Continuing Education Offerings
     In October 1997 the ETCS Advocate Council met to discuss professional development needs in northeastern Indiana. From that discussion, several professional certificate programs offered through IPFW Continuing Education were developed and one course was offered in September 1998.
     The Project Management Certificate program taught by Mitchell Springer, PMP, director of training/employee development at Raytheon Systems Co., gave 24 participants the opportunity to develop, present, and evaluate their own project management plan.
     According to Springer, "each of us go through some number of activities and produce attendant products whenever we approach a project of any size, whether that be building an addition to our home, planting a garden, or engineering a satellite system. What we're trying to do with this certificate program is introduce a set of activities and products which, when followed, will produce a coherent, consistent, and more formal plan.from that which normally might have existed. It should be noted that not every activity will be followed nor every product produced when planning a program. .Each program, based on complexity and other contributing factors, will be more or less formal and coherent during the planning process."
     A Plastics Engineering Certificate and Systems Engineering Certificate program are scheduled in the spring. Michael Stockstill, executive director of IPFW Continuing Education, said his office plans to develop a number of additional certificate programs. "We see our role as facilitators," Stockstill noted. "We are here to help improve the workforce in northeast Indiana. We want companies in this area to tell us the kinds of training programs that they need to help improve the performance of their employees. What we are interested in is helping employers improve their bottom line by improving the skills and development of their workers."
     Continuing Education staff are working on projects that include a spring seminar on plastic manufacturing and design and a four-course certificate program in systems engineering. Stockstill hopes employers will contact him if they have suggestions for new training programs IPFW could develop with them. Stockstill's office number is 219-481-6619.

     ETCS enrollments are generally up. Enrollments in Civil and Architectural Engineering Technology (CAET), Computer Science (CS), and Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET) programs all climbed by about 10 percent. Enrollments in Engineering (ENGR) increased by 5 percent, and those in Manufacturing Technology (MFT) declined by about 5 percent. ETCS now has more than 1,500 students.
     The Technology Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (TAC/ABET) recently visited our campus to review the programs for Architectural Engineering Technology (ARET), Civil Engineering Technology (CET), Construction Engineering Technology (CNET), Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology (ECET), Industrial Engineering Technology (IET), and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET). We will receive a preliminary report from the commission in January and know the results of the review in summer 1999.
     Each department received nearly $5,000 as part of the state's program to enhance technical resources. Through our computing initiative we hope to greatly increase this amount next year.
     Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) remains administratively and financially attached to ETCS, but is not formally integrated on a curricular level. OLS has about 400 students.

Scholarship 1998 Update
Under the guidance of Advocate Council member John Whitacre, our scholarship program had another successful year. We awarded $58,200 in scholarship monies to 46 students. Eleven freshmen received scholarships and the rest of the awards went to continuing students. The ETCS Scholarships for Excellence are merit-based awards. Our goal is to attract and retain high academic achievers. We look forward to awarding the 1999 scholarships at the annual banquet in April. If you would like to contribute to this program, please call Mary Jane Casiano at 219-481-6839.

1998 Sponsors

A. W. Schenkel Memorial	Bonar Group
CTS Inc., Berne	Ross Caldwell Memorial
Electric League of Indiana	Fred Gideon
General Motors Corp.	Guardian Industries
Hagerman Construction Corp.	David Hunt Memorial
ITT	John Johnson Memorial
Maurice Lam Memorial	Navistar International Corp.
Northeast Indiana Construction Advancement Foundation	PHD Inc.
Phelps Dodge Magnet Wire Co.	Poly Hi Solidur
R. R. Donnelly	Raytheon Systems Co.
Lloyd W. Smith Memorial	United Technologies Corp.
Zollner Foundation

Retiree News
Ronald C. Emery, professor of electrical engineering technology and associate dean, will begin partial retirement in spring 1999. He will teach one course each fall and spring semester and continue as associate dean. He came to IPFW in 1966.
Aly A. Mahmoud, professor of electrical engineering, will begin partial retirement in spring 1999. He will teach fall semesters only for the next several years. He came to IPFW in 1988.

Personnel Changes
Three out of our five departments have new leaders this year-new in the chair positions, but old in the faculty ranks. After eight years at the helm, Jim Silver has stepped down as chair of the computer science department to return to the faculty ranks. Adam Huarng, associate professor of information systems, has accepted the position of acting chair this year. The department will conduct a national search for a new chair in the 1999-2000 school year. Carlos Pomalaza-Ráez, professor of RF communications, is the new chair of the engineering department. He has been at IPFW since 1989 and served as acting chair in 1995. Ken Perry, associate professor of mechanical engineering technology, has accepted the chair position in manufacturing technology. He has been at IPFW since 1982.
Other faculty news includes: Josue Libii (ENGR) and Vahid Badii (ENGR) are both on sabbatical this year, and Iskandar "Roger" Hack (ECET) has returned from Malaysia. Hossein Oloomi (ENGR) will return in January.

New Hires
New faculty in our school this year are: Dennis Marshall (CAET), Beomjin Kim (CS, visiting), Robert Sanders (CS, visiting), Hosni Abu-Mulaweh (ENGR), Suleiman Barada (ENGR, visiting), Zelalem Eshete (ENGR, visiting), Naresh Mathur (ENGR, visiting), Suyeon Moon (ENGR, visiting) and Amir Javaheri (MFT, visiting). The visiting faculty have one-year appointments.

Faculty Spotlight
     Thomas S. Laverghetta is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering technology. He has been a full-time faculty member at IPFW since 1986. Prior to that he was an associate faculty member from 1983 to 1986 at ITT. Laverghetta was in industry for 23 years in Syracuse, N.Y., and Fort Wayne. He received a B.S.E.E. from Syracuse University in 1971 and an M.S.E.E. from Purdue University in 1991.
     Laverghetta is probably most recognizable from his classes on Channel 6. He has been televising classes since Jan. 13, 1992, and has more than 700 sessions on the air. Electronic communications classes offered on television have evolved into a communications certificate that has more than doubled enrollment in communications classes in the past year. The certificate allows individuals in industry to take communications classes and have their employer reimburse them for the class since they are working toward a specific end.
     Laverghetta is also active in the co-op program and has been coordinator for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology since the program began in 1986. He is also campus representative to West Lafayette for the co-op executive committee. Laverghetta has been on all sides of co-op as a co-op student in school, working with co-op students in industry, and now sending students out to industry. He says "there is no downside to co-op."
     Laverghetta has published 10 books on microwaves and communications. He has just been asked by Artech House in Boston to do a third edition of one of his books, Microwave Materials and Fabrication Techniques. Along with the books, Laverghetta is involved in extensive consulting activities that include clients throughout the United States, Sweden, England, and Norway. These activities keep him current in the fast-changing technology of wireless communications and allow him to keep his students up-to-date on the latest changes.
     The research Laverghetta is involved in is an applied research that involves many microwave circuits and microwave circuit board materials. He has developed a test method for characterizing the parameters of a microwave material that has not been used previously. He has gotten his students involved in this research by having a number of them do related tasks for their senior design projects.
     Laverghetta is involved in many activities not only on campus, but also off campus. He is on the Auburn Plan Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. He is past president of the Auburn Redevelopment Commission and Auburn Arts Commission. He is also active in music and plays with the Auburn Community Band, the Auburn Dixielanders, and the Auburn Brass. At Immaculate Conception Church he directs the chime choir and directs and performs with instrumentalists in grades 7 to 12.

School of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science Dean Appointed
     G. Allen Pugh has been named dean of the School of Engineering, Technology, and Computer Science (ETCS). Upon the recommendation of Michael A. Wartell, chancellor, and Susan B. Hannah, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs, the appointment was approved by the Purdue University president and board of trustees.
     Pugh, professor of industrial engineering technology, has been interim dean of the school since 1997. He has been an IPFW faculty member since 1981 and an integral member of the administration, serving as chair of manufacturing technology, director of organizational leadership and supervision, director of industrial engineering technology, and chair of engineering.
     He received a Ph.D. and M.S. in industrial engineering from Purdue University. His areas of technical expertise are in statistical process control, simulation, and selective assembly. He has been a long-time member of the International Board of Editors for the Journal of Computers and Industrial Engineering. In addition, while at Purdue University he received the 1997 and 1981 Magoon Award for teaching.
     Said Wartell, "Al Pugh has done an excellent job as interim dean, leading the school through reaccreditation, streamlining academic programs, and initiating more distance education. He has strong faculty and community support and I am confident that under his leadership ETCS will further enhance its outstanding academic programs, research productivity, and consultative services to industry in the region."
     Pugh said his goals as dean are to "maintain our excellent undergraduate programs, expand accreditation, improve community connections, and upgrade our laboratories."

Donation Corner
DANA Corp. of Fort Wayne made a monetary donation to the ETCS Computing Initiative.

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